Few places in the art world are as exciting as downtown Santa Fe, New Mexico, during late August: The weather is not quite perfect, but very close, with ideal temperatures and magnificent rain showers in the afternoon. There is a new art opening on nearly every corner. The atmosphere is festive and jubilant and people stream into town to participate in the Santa Fe Indian Market. Santa Fe truly becomes the center of the Southwest. 
Stormy, acrylic and ink, 48 x 24”
Joining that wonderful mix this year is Oreland Joe, who will be presenting approximately 20 new works at a solo show opening August 19 at Manitou Galleries, which sits barely a football field away from the Santa Fe Plaza. Joe is no stranger to these historic streets—he guesses he’s shown in Santa Fe for 18 years or more. “Santa Fe is always a great location to show your artwork,” he says.
His new show, titled Healers and Medicine People, will feature a wide variety of work, including several stone pieces, some bronze sculptures and his newest ledger-inspired oil paintings. The stone works should be especially well received since Joe has been unable to work in stone due to Covid and other factors. This show will mark his return to stone in nearly three years. 
Prairie Scouts, acrylic and ink, 16 x 12”
One of his oil works in the show is Prairie Scouts, which shows a large eagle with a ghostly presence as it looms over a mounted rider firing an arrow. Joe researches these works extensively and often travels to various historic battlefields to experience an emotional response to the place, the history and the spiritual presence of those who came before him. “I always try to do as much research as
I can so I can have a connection to these places. We always leave with a song and a prayer, something to honor the people who were there,” Joe says. “We’ll also leave some tobacco, corn pollen and some sage smoke. Then as I leave I just kind of sit in my thoughts. Occasionally I will be inspired in the car drive back and start sketching right there. Sometimes it takes two or three months to manifest to me.”
Buffalo Tail, bronze, ed. of 30, 26½ x 15 x 18”
In the work Stormy, Joe paints a female figure dressed in a colorful outfit that includes a large hat with feathers, a purple robe and Western-style cowboy boots. Joe notes that ledger art often portrays the fronts of figures, and rarely shows them from behind or in more complicated poses, which Joe saw as a challenge. “For this one I turned her shoulders and her boots so they were pointing the other direction. The knife case on her back was made extra large because I wanted that to be the focal point,” he says. “I really liked the tilt of her head and the light on her cheeks. It looks like warpaint on her face, but it’s just light. Those were my first strokes and I really liked them so I left them alone.” —
Powered by Froala Editor
